Anti-Putin demonstrators clash with police in Moscow and St Petersburg

Police have clashed with demonstrators in three Russian cities as protests
continued against vote fraud in the country's parliamentary elections at the
weekend.

10:03AM GMT 07 Dec 2011

Hundreds of police blocked off Triumphal Square in Moscow on Tuesday evening and detained at least 250 demonstrators.

Among them was Sergei Mitrokhin, deputy head of the social-democratic Yabloko party; Boris Nemtsov, a leader of the liberal opposition; prominent radical Eduard Limonov and Oleg Orlov, head of human rights group Memorial.

Demonstrators shouted, "Putin is a crook and a thief!" referring both to the alleged election fraud and to widespread complaints that United Russia is largely responsible for Russia's endemic corruption.

At least 200 demonstrators also gathered in St Petersburg, visibly outnumbering police who made arrests in a second consecutive night of unrest in the city.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party saw a significant drop in support in Sunday's election but although it will retain a majority in parliament.